New York City DOT Safety City (traffic and pedestrian safety) class | Photo courtesy NYCDOT | CC by 2.0

Walking is a powerful tool to change the world as well as a fundamental human right. To be restrained from free movement is a denial of our liberties and a betrayal of American ideals.
Yet many disadvantaged people now think twice before traveling on foot due to dangerous traffic, street crime or a lack of stores and public places within walking distance, which heightens serious problems of poor health, limited transportation options and overall disillusionment in their communities.

October is Trails, Parks and Outdoor Spots Month, with a focus on walking.
In part three of Jay Walljasper's Easy Steps to Walking More, he discusses how communities can create safer, more walkable routes for everyone.

The United States Surgeon General placed walking in the national spotlight with his recent call to action, encouraging people to make walking a part of their daily lives and to help create more walkable communities.
In part one of Jay Walljasper's four-part series, Easy Steps to Walking More, he provides simple tips that can help every American adopt walking into their regular routines.

For harried 21st Century commuters, who spend long hours in cars or buses each week, driving seems too reminiscent of work. On evenings and weekends, they want to take off on bikes, skates, longboards or their own two feet. That’s why communities are now busy creating new trails and greenways across America and throughout the world.

The next big health care breakthrough - which could cut rates of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and Alzheimer's by at least 40 percent and save Americans $100 billion a year - comes from a place you'd least expect. On your block. At the park. Everywhere.